THE BLUE COMET,
“THE SEASHORE’S
FINEST TRAIN”
Shortly
after we began publishing the Halley’s Comet Watch Newsletter in 1982, Ruth
Freitag, of the Library of Congress, sent us an article about the famous “Blue
Comet” – a luxury coach train that ran between New York City and Atlantic City,
New Jersey from 1929 to 1941. The fact
that we are a New Jersey-based organization gave us cause to research the
subject rather extensively. We
contacted a friend who is also a Railroad buff who provided us with very detailed
information on the famous train. The
return of Halley’s Comet and the rebirth of Atlantic City made the topic even
more timely. Our efforts to write an
essay on the Blue Comet were thwarted by a variety of comet-related
activities. Then, along with our May,
1986 New Jersey Bell Telephone bill came the Tel-news, a monthly insert,
with an article on the Blue Comet by Dorothy Voss, the Editor. With due credit and gratitude, the article
is reproduced here in its entirety. (Anyone interested in learning more
about the Blue Comet can read “The Seashore’s Finest Train: The Blue Comet”,
a 62 –page, illustrated booklet by Joel Rosenbaum and Tom Gallo published by
Railpace Company, Inc., P.O. Box 927, Piscataway, NJ 08854).
Nowadays a trip to Atlantic City is
rather mundane… by bus, plane or car.
In the recent past travelers made the journey in grand style on a
deluxe, swift train known as the BLUE COMET.
The BLUE COMET, New Jersey Central’s
luxury coach train, provided service from 1929 to 1941 between New York and
Atlantic City.
Advertised as “The Seashore’s Finest
Train,” it was designed to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atlantic
City service… remember Nellie Bly?…by offering fast…three hours portal to
portal…first-class service to coach passengers at regular fare.
The COMET made two round trips daily
with extra trips on weekends and on Fridays during the summer months. Stops were made to pick up or discharge
passengers at Elizabethport, Red Bank, Lakewood, Lakehurst and Hammonton. It created good will all along its route,
too. Often the crew would toss
newspapers from the moving train to folks who lived in the remote areas of the
Pine Barrens. They’d reciprocate by
bringing to the Lakewood stop baskets of goodies or, in season, berries picked
in the woods.
Everything about the steam-powered
train suggested a speeding blue comet.
Its exterior was painted a rich, deep blue with a cream-colored stripe
running its length on both sides (a reminder, too, of the Jersey Shore’s sky,
surf and sandy beaches.) Over the
course of its run, hundreds of people frequently lined the tracks just to watch
it thunder by, a flashing blue comet on earthbound rails.
Each car was named for a
comet…including the most famous one, Halley’s Comet, visible to us Earthlings
this year. The BLUE COMET motif
continued inside the train with Persian blue upholstery, royal blue linen,
comets etched on window glass ovals, and even train schedules, tickets and
menus with a BLUE COMET logo.
A ride on the BLUE COMET was
unique. The car one entered upon
boarding was lavishly furnished. All
chairs were reserved and they were triple cushioned, upholstered in expensive,
figured mohair, and spaced to give plenty of legroom. A porter (in blue, of course) waited nearby to fulfill your
slightest need. An observation car was
open to all without extra charge. There
was also a smoking car for men and a tastefully decorated lounge for women.
Food? A dining car with inlaid wood
interior, tables with fine linen and silver awaited the hungry rider. Food was home cooked right on board. Prices were laughably low by today’s going
rates. The Blue Plate special was 75
cents; dinner…a choice of fish, chicken or steak…was $1.25! Just thinking about the warm, baked apple
pie served with a wedge of aged, New York cheddar cheese could set mouths
watering.
Like many comets, the BLUE COMET
burned out. After a few brilliant
years, passenger volume dropped. It was
the onset of the Depression, revenues declined, service was reduced. Finally, competition with the larger
Pennsylvania Railroad, the expansion of the state’s highway system and the
increased use of cars put an end to the service. The BLUE COMET made its last run on September 27, 1941. It was a blue day for New Jersey train
travelers.
EDITOR’S
NOTE #1: The comet names for the 16 cars of the BLUE
COMET were as follows:
1 Diner: Gicobini
2 Combines: Halley, Encke
2 Baggage cars: Olbers, Barnardi
8
Coaches: Tuttle, Holmes, Westphal, D’Arrest, Faye, Spitaler,
Winnecke, Brorsen
3 Observation cars: DeVico, Biela,
Tempel
EDITOR’S
NOTE #2: Since
publishing this material, through a friend who collects model trains, we came
across a Lionel train that replicated the BLUE COMET, with the various cars
named as described above.